Description of the attraction
Schwaz is an Austrian city located in the federal state of Tyrol. The city is located in the Inn valley, 30 km east of Innsbruck.
Schwaz was first mentioned in 930 as the settlement "Suates", and in 1170 the first city tower was built on the hill. The settlement originally subsisted on agriculture. However, after the discovery of silver and copper deposits, Schwaz began to develop rapidly. During its heyday in the 15th and 16th centuries, Schwaz became the largest mining town in Europe (20,000 inhabitants) and also the second largest city after Vienna.
After the closure of the mining industry and the destruction of a large part of the city during the Napoleonic wars, there was an urgent need to rebuild a large number of institutions. In 1819, a secondary school was opened, construction of a tobacco factory began in 1830, a district court was opened in 1837, and in 1876 a nursing home and a hospital appeared in Schwaz.
The main attractions of Schwaz include the Fugger House, built as the residence of a merchant family in 1525. The City Hall is a former trading house built in the late Gothic style by the architect Hans Jörg Stockl in 1509. It will be interesting for tourists to walk along the pedestrian street Franz Josef, which was once the most important city street and is well preserved.
The parish church, built in Schwaz in 1460, has the largest church hall in Tyrol. The altar of the temple is decorated with Gothic statues of St. Anna, St. Ursula and St. Elizabeth. A little later - the statues of St. George and St. Floriana. In the cemetery chapel of the early 16th century, frescoes created during the construction of the temple have been preserved. The Franciscan church has retained a Gothic interior with minor Baroque fragments.
In 2001, the modern Zeiss planetarium was opened in Schwaz, which today is one of the most advanced in the world. In 2006, it was equipped with the latest technology, which allows you to show visitors high-quality video in 3D.
